Everything to Me
by Jeck
Summary: Zoey spends the day before a contest out and about, but can't get a certain blue-haired girl off her mind. When facing off in a contest, will Zoey's feelings be her downfall? Not as dramatic as I make it sound... Zoey/Dawn romance! :D


Wow, I've been meaning to post this for awhile, but I just couldn't figure out how to end it. So I finished it at like 3 in the morning so that I won't care. lol I'm posting it today since I'm probably not going to get around to posting the next chapter of my Zelda fanfic until tomorrow. Not like anyone is reading it, but still...

I don't own Pokemon. Nope, not at all. Nor do I own any songs by Michelle Branch, which is where the title of the story came from.

I want to thank Rave the Rich for this suggestion on a story he had awhile ago. Sorry I'm just now getting around to posting it. Thanks for being an inspiration to me! :D

* * *

Everything to Me

* * *

Zoey stretched as she walked out of the Pokecenter that she was staying at. Normally, she just camped out in the woods, but she made it a habit to stay a few days at the Pokecenter before a contest. Tomorrow was yet another contest and Zoey decided to go into town for the day to get a few things.

"First stop is the shoe store!" Zoey exclaimed happily as she started off towards town. On the way, she saw quite a few coordinators practicing for the contest. She figured that she should probably be training too, but her Pokemon were worn out and deserved a nice break before their next contest. Zoey spotted the shoe store almost right away when she entered the town.

"Welcome to Shoes & Things. How may I help you?" The woman at the front desk asked. Zoey looked down at her worn boots before looking up at the blonde haired woman.

"I'm in need of new boots. Can you point me in the right direction?" The woman smiled as she looked down at Zoey's boots.

"Oh my, you really do need new boots. Those style of boots are over there in the right corner." Zoey thanked the woman at the desk before heading off to the corner where the boots were.

"I've needed new boots for awhile now. Dawn was always getting on my case about it," Zoey mumbled to herself as she found the boots she was looking for, recalling Dawn confronting Zoey about her boots for the first time after their sixth contest together.

_~ Flashback ~_

"You call those boots?" Dawn asked in disbelief as Zoey put her suit jacket on a hanger. Zoey rolled her eyes and laughed.

"I love these boots. I've had them for a really long time," Zoey told her as she pulled her purple vest on.

"But they're so dirty, wore, and tore up. How do they even keep your feet warm anymore?" Dawn asked as she adjusted her hat in the mirror. Zoey shrugged as she sat down and pulled her boots on. They were filthy and the souls were worn, but Zoey loved them all the same.

"I'll get new boots eventually." Dawn glared at her.

"Yeah right. You're going to keep those boots until they run away to the trash themselves." Zoey nodded.

"Probably. My dad gave these to me when I first left home to become a coordinator." Dawn just shook her head.

"Whatever, Zoey. I'm going to keep nagging you to get another pair of boots though. Don't think for a minute that this is the end."

_~ End Flashback ~_

"I'll take this pair, please." Zoey stated as she placed the boots on the front desk of the shoe store. The woman nodded as she rang up the pair of black boots.

"That'll be $69.99." Zoey handed the woman the money and took the plastic bag that the woman handed her. "Thank you and have a nice day," the woman said as Zoey started for the door.

"Yeah, you too," Zoey called over her shoulder as she left, ringing the bell as she opened the door and stepped out. Zoey pulled a list out of her pocket and skimmed down the list. "Next is the grocery store." Zoey said to herself as she began walking down the street, enjoying the nice spring breeze. Her spiky red hair blew in the wind, cooling the sweat that had formed under her bangs.

"Maybe I should stop and get a drink somewhere first," Zoey muttered as she wiped the sweat off her forehead. She looked left and right down the street until she saw a small pizza place off to the side.

'I asked Dawn to take me to a pizza place for my fifteenth birthday last year.' Zoey thought as she entered the small family owned shop.

_~ Flashback ~_

"A pizza place? But it's your birthday, Zoey! Don't you want to go to some fancy restaurant or something?" Dawn asked as they traveled down the street with Piplup and Glameow following close behind the two girls.

"I'm positive. It's only my fifteenth birthday and I'm really in the mood for some pizza," Zoey replied when a familiar pizza place came into view.

"Ray's Pizza? Didn't we order cheese steaks from their earlier this week?" Dawn asked in a huff. Zoey shrugged.

"I love Ray's. Besides, it's my birthday so it's my pick. Come on," Zoey said as she grabbed the blue haired girl's hand and drug her inside.

"That's what I like about you, Zoey. You can be so awesome and cool sometimes, and really weird and unique other times," Dawn told her with a chuckle as their Pokemon ran to try to keep up with their trainers.

"I'm here to keep you on your toes. Your life would be boring without me," Zoey offered as they approached the counter to place their orders.

"That it would be."

_~ End Flashback ~_

"Welcome to Palermo's Pizza. What can I get for you?" A man asked with a thick Italian accent. Zoey looked up at the menu before looking back at the man.

"I'll just take a bottle of water, please." The man nodded.

"Yes ma'am. One bottle of water coming right up! That'll be $2.50." Zoey pulled out her wallet and handed the man two dollar bills and two quarters. He took the money and handed her a bottle of water.

"Thank you," Zoey said as she moved out of the way for the next person.

"No, thank you! Have a nice day, ma'am." Zoey nodded as she left the pizza place and continued down the street to the grocery store. Just as she entered the store, dark storm clouds started rolling into the sky.

"Looks like it's going to rain," A blonde haired girl stated as she entered the store at the same time as Zoey. Zoey nodded.

"Yeah, it definitely does," she replied. The blonde haired girl smiled and walked away without another word.

'People can be so weird sometimes. Did you want to start a conversation or not?' Zoey thought angrily as she began to go about the store to collect the food she needed. Once she was done a half hour later, she ended up in line behind the same blonde haired girl from earlier.

"Hey Red!" She said when she noticed Zoey get behind her in line.

"My name is Zoey," Zoey replied coldly, not liking the nickname.

"Sorry, Zoey. I just thought that it was an appropriate nickname since I didn't know your real name. I'm Cassie," the blonde haired girl said as she offered her hand. Zoey shook Cassie's hand, but halfheartedly.

"It's nice to meet you, Cassie." Cassie smiled as the clerk finished bagging her groceries.

"Oh, I wanted to tell you earlier that I absolutely love your vest. It's so cute! Where did you get it?" Zoey looked down at her blue vest before looking back up at Cassie.

"Thanks. My friend's mom gave it to me last Christmas."

_~ Flashback~_

"Merry Christmas, Zoey!" Dawn said as she handed the girl a present wrapped in gold paper topped with a green bow. Zoey accepted the gift happily and slowly began to remove the paper.

"Thanks Dawn," she said as she tossed the paper into a trash bag. Under the paper was a small box which opened to reveal and new pair of glasses.

"I remembered that Ash broke your last pair so I figured I might as well get you a new one," Dawn explained as Zoey tried them on.

"I love it! Thanks so much, Dawn. These are so much better than my last pair," Zoey told the blue haired girl as she put the sunglasses back in their box.

"Here's another present, Zoey," Joanna informed her as she handed the redhead a present wrapped in red paper with a blue bow on top. Zoey graciously accepted it.

"You really didn't have to," Zoey said timidly as the older blue haired woman smiled.

"You're almost like family now, dear. Go ahead and open it." Zoey nodded as she pulled the wrapping paper away from the box. It was a medium sized thin box and Zoey figured it was some kind of clothing. She carefully lifted the lid away and pulled a navy blue vest out of the box. She held the vest open in awe.

"Wow," she said in awe as Joanna picked up the discarded ripped wrapping paper.

"Your old vest was barely clinging to your back so I figured you could use a new one. I don't understand why you have such issues with letting go of your old clothes. Just look at those boots." Dawn gave Zoey a sly smile as Zoey's face turned almost as red as her hair.

"You've got me there. This is amazing, Joanna. I love it." Joanna nodded as she embraced the smaller girl.

"I'm glad you like it. I made it myself, you know. I couldn't let you keep wearing that old purple vest." Dawn slung an arm around Zoey's shoulder.

"We care about you here, buddy." Zoey smiled at her best friend and leaned over to hug her.

_~ End Flashback ~_

"Well, you look good in it. See you around, Zoey." Zoey waved good-bye to the blonde as she left, the memories from last Christmas still fresh in her mind.

"Will that be all today, ma'am?" The woman behind the counter asked as she rang up Zoey's groceries. Zoey shook her head, unable to wipe the smile offer her face from her little trip down memory lane.

"Nope, that's it. What's the damage?" Zoey asked, pulling out her black leather wallet.

"The total comes to $47.89," the clerk told her as Zoey passed her two twenty dollar bills and a ten across the counter.

"That should cover it," Zoey said as the cashier fished her change out of the cash register.

"Thank you and have a nice day!" The woman said cheerily, passing Zoey the change who was already picking up her bags.

"Yeah, you too," she said as she headed for the door. Without any other errand to do, Zoey decided to head back to the Pokecenter. Along the way, thoughts about a energetic blue haired girl were swirling around in her head. Finally, she reached her destination. Just as she approached the door, long blue hair came into view. Without a moment's hesitation, Zoey called out Dawn's name.

"Dawn!" But the long blue haired person turned around to reveal a man, not her best friend. Nervously, Zoey ran her free hand through her shaggy red hair and continued past the man, pretending that she hadn't signaled him.

'I feel like such a fool,' Zoey thought as the man's eyes followed her into the Pokecenter.

"Oh Zoey, you're back. How did your errands go?" Nurse Joy asked as Zoey stepped into the air-conditioned Pokecenter, a blush still evident on her cheeks.

"Fine, thanks for asking!" She replied as she dashed off to her room, still regretting her earlier actions. She had wanted it to be her blue haired best friend so bad and knowing that it wasn't was a bit of a let down.

"No time to dwell on the past! I've got a contest tomorrow!" Zoey said as she left herself into her room.

* * *

There was 2 minutes left on the clock and the battle between Zoey and Dawn was heated. Really, it didn't surprise Zoey that the contest came down between her and her best friend. The surprise was that Dawn really was in town the same time and they had no idea until they were in the dressing rooms that morning. It all came down to this…

"Glameow, use iron tail!" Zoey cried out as Glameow rushed forward, her tail glowing white with power as she rush Buneary who was on the ground from her previous attack.

"Buneary dodge and use ice beam!" Dawn cried. Buneary rolled to the side and shot an ray of ice towards Glameow.

"Jump and use fury swipes!" Zoey called. Glameow needed no more instruction as she leapt into the air and charged down at Buneary, her claws out and ready to do some damage.

"Buneary, dig!" Before Glameow could hit it's target, Buneary disappeared underground.

"There's only thirty seconds left and Zoey's just barely ahead, but anything could happen now!" The announcer called as Zoey searched frantically for the brown puff ball.

'Crap, what do I do now? Dawn obviously just taught Buneary that move. I have to do something quickly, or else it's game over. Wait… is it just me, or is Dawn looking a like bit bigger today?' Zoey thought to herself, her attention focused on the blue haired coordinator rather than the contest at hand. Glameow was waiting patiently for her trainer to belt out the next command, but it never came. Zoey's eyes were glued to Dawn's chest.

"Buneary, finish this with a dizzy punch!" Dawn cried out, oblivious to Zoey's wandering eyes. Buneary popped out of the grab just in time to deliver the final hit to Glameow. Zoey's score dropped below Dawn's just as the timer hit zero.

"Time's up and we have a winner!" The announcer called out as Glameow tried to rise to her feet. Zoey was snapped out of her daze to see the outcome of the contest.

'Stupid, stupid… why was I starring at Dawn's chest? What's wrong with me? I just lost this contest!' Zoey screamed at herself in her head as she made her way across the stage to her Pokemon.

"You did a good job, Glameow," she whispered as the cat curled up in her arms, a disappointed look across the Pokemon's face. Zoey looked up to see Dawn giving her a nasty look.

'She just won, why is she looking at me like that?'

* * *

"Zoey, I want a rematch!" Dawn demanded as Zoey slung her bag over her shoulder. Zoey looked up into the furious eyes of her best friend.

"Hi to you too, Dawn. Congratulations by the way. Now why are you flipping out?" Zoey asked, crossing her arms at her friend's rude behavior. Her words only seemed to infuriate her best friend even more.

"You let me win! You didn't do anything when Buneary dug underground, leaving Glameow defenseless. You have every chance to do something, but you didn't. I don't feel right having this ribbon until I beat you fair and square!" Dawn yelled, knocking over one of the chairs in the changing room. Zoey froze up, realizing that she'd be caught.

"No really, Dawn. You won fair and square. I'm just a bit off my game…" Zoey tried to reason, but Dawn wouldn't have it.

"I've been in plenty of contests with you before, Zoey. You're my rival and my best friend. I know for a fact that you let me win, that you weren't put 100% into that contest." Zoey sighed and grabbed a chair, pulling it up to face Dawn.

"I'm sorry, Dawn. But I didn't let you win. I was distracted," Zoey explained as Dawn mimicked her actions, picking up the very same chair that she knocked over.

"Distracted by what? What could have distracted you enough from this very important contest?" Dawn demanded, folding her arms over her chest. For a might, Zoey's eyes were drawn to the very same thing that they'd be focused on earlier. "Well?"

"Again, I'm sorry. Please don't hate me for what I'm about to tell you, Dawn. I was distracted by you." At Zoey's words, Dawn's expression changed from anger to confusion.

"At me? What did I do?" Zoey bite the inside of her cheek as she tried to find the words to answer Dawn's question.

"Did you get a new bra?" As soon as the words left her mouth, Zoey wanted to smash her face into a wall. Dawn's face immediately went red.

"Um, yeah I did. How did you…?" They sat in silence as Zoey tried to collect her thoughts without saying something stupid again.

"I like you, Dawny. A lot more than I should. Yesterday I couldn't stop thinking about you wherever I went. I even thought some random stranger was you because I wanted you to be there. And last night, I had a dream about you and I realized how I really felt. I'm so sorry, Dawn, because in a way, I did let you win. Because I was too distracted by my feelings to focus on the contest," Zoey explain, her eyes glued to the floor. She didn't want to look up to see Dawn's reaction. She didn't want to be rejected, but she had no choice, but to tell Dawn the truth.

"You know, I'm really glad you finally told me that. I wish it had been another time and not after you let me win a contest." Zoey's head shot up to see a knowing smile on Dawn's face.

"What?" She asked, completely baffled. Dawn's smile spread wider as she rose from her seat and crossed the room to Zoey. She knelt down in front of the redhead and cupped her face within her soft elegant hands.

"I was wondering how long until you'd admit it to yourself. I've liked you too, Zoey, more than I should. It's had to have been at least a year now, but I didn't want to say anything until you realized it too." Zoey sat dumbstruck as Dawn giggled at her expression.

"You liked for… a year?"

"Yes, Zoey. And I still want a rematch for this ribbon. It's not fair that you were so distracted by my cleavage." It was Zoey's turn to have her face turn as red as a tomato as Dawn stood up.

"Y-You're not…?" Zoey stuttered, still shocked by how the situation was playing out. In her mind, nasty things would have been said and a five year friendship was going to be thrown down the drain. Instead, Dawn was surprisingly cool with everything and even expecting this out of her.

"Mad, no. I'm actually pretty hungry. Let's go find a nice pizza place and talk about what's next for us, shall we?" Dawn suggested, holding out her hand to Zoey. She hesitant for moment before grabbing Dawn's outstretched hand and rising to her feet.

"I knew you got a new bra," Zoey stated as they exited the contest building. Dawn just chuckled.

"It makes me wonder how many times you've starred at my chest," Dawn replied, keeping Zoey's hand within her own.

"Not nearly enough," Zoey shot back, intertwining her fingers with Dawn's. They continued walking down the road, enjoying the sensation of having the air cleared between them.

* * *

**The End**

* * *

So what'd you think? Your reviews mean the world to me, just so you know. R & R!


End file.
